'His comments should disqualify him': GOP strategist slams Trump's praise of Russian 'war criminal' Putin

Veteran Republican strategist Scott Reed wants former President Donald Trump drummed out of the Republican Party.

In an interview with Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman, Reed unloaded on Trump for heaping praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin for his "genius" invasion of Ukraine that has resulted in a collapse in Russia's economy and a formal investigation into war crimes committed by Russian forces.

“His comments on Putin should disqualify him from ever again running for the GOP nomination,” Reed said. “Putin is now a war criminal.”

READ MORE: Barr reveals new details of his resignation after delivering Trump bad news about his 'clown show' lawyers

Despite this, many Trump advisers believe the GOP base will shrug off the latest Trump controversy, just as they shrugged off his past praise for Putin, his declaration that he fell "in love" with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, his boasts about sexually assaulting women, his attempts to shake down the Ukrainian government by withholding military aid in exchange for dirt on a political rival, his potentially illegal attempts to stay in power despite losing the 2020 election, and his incitement of a riot at the United States Capitol building.

“Every time people say, ‘There’s no way he can come back from this!’—and he always does,” a former Trump official explained to Sherman. “It’s like everything with Trump. If you’re voting for Trump, you like him. If you’re not, you don’t. You’re not going to worry about another comment he makes.”